Slice, Mix, And A Pinch of Shannaro
by Sinful Psycho
Summary: An elite in the shadows known for her otherworldly skillset in cooking. Sakura Haruno was the type of chef wherein every dish she makes and creates packs a punch.


"I suggest you take a break to find yourself."

"Whatever, old man."

Senzaemon sighed as he watched the pinkette storm off, slamming the door of his office behind her. He wasn't quite sure when it happened, but the female changed. No longer was she the kid he watched grow up to be the chef she has always wanted to be, the promising prodigy of cuisine that rivaled his own granddaughter in palate and with otherworldly skills she managed to gain through excessive hard work and perseverance. Now, the spark in her eyes that she has taken to calling 'the will of fire' was diminishing as time passed by. The once sparking emerald turned jaded.

* * *

"Transforming Furikake Gohan!" Jumping at the sudden exclamation, Sakura took a couple of steps backwards and peeked inside the kitchen where the entrance exam was apparently being held. After she stormed out of the director's office, her feet brought her to where she was now; in the large hall where kids all around the world were supposed to be gathered to be tested to join the ranks of the students in Totsuki, but was found empty upon her arrival, to which she took to walking aimlessly until she found what she was looking for. To no surprise, she spotted only one examinee being personally judged by Erina, with the usual accompaniment of Hisako. _Her maid_ , her inner snickered. With Nakiri Erina as the examiner, it was to be expected that most of the examinees would run. But Sakura kind of expected all of them to. With this one participant staying, it piqued her interest.

She decided to stay and watch as the esteemed owner of the 'God's Tongue' refused to judge the dish the redhead presented, deeming it a waste of time as it was made by a second-rate chef. Sakura scoffed at that, rolling her eyes at the stuck-up attitude the blonde had, despite it being obvious that she was fascinated with the dish. For a moment, the pinkette played with the idea of going inside the kitchen and judging it herself but decided against it when she saw the way the male presented the final form of his creation. She knew Erina was hooked the moment the cubes were dramatically poured unto the steaming bowl of rice and melting as it got in touch with the heat.

Sakura inhaled the aroma of chicken wafting out from the kitchen, sighing as she heard more than felt her stomach rumble. She hasn't eaten anything since being called to the office, and the walk from the office to the examination area was long. Maybe she could get the kid to cook her something after his test. Snapping back to attention as she heard the sound of chopsticks being slammed on the steel kitchen counter, she took great pleasure in seeing Erina practically begging for seconds. She watched as the blonde's knees buckled, hands immediately grasping on the counter's edge. There was something amusing about seeing people's reactions when given the opportunity to taste an experienced chef's cooking, though equally annoying at how some used weird metaphors to describe the taste. _And the dramatic reactions, too_ , her inner piped up.

Shaking her head, she already knew how this was going to go. With the redhead's cockiness and Erina's pride, no matter how good the male's dish was, his judge will say otherwise. It was bad luck that the examiner this year was the Nakiri brat.

Which is why she decided to make a call as she continued her way to her dorm to pack up.

"I'll leave before the Training Camp, but before that, there's this kid.."

* * *

"We'll proceed to give the award to the best of the year. Representative of the first years, Nakiri Erina."

Numerous compliments aroused from the mass of students, with the exception of some who shook their heads as they muttered to themselves.

"We'll introduce the student who was admitted to the high school section."

"I'm Yukihira Souma. Truth be told, I only think of this academy as a stepping stone. I got admitted here unexpectedly, but I don't plan to lose to some bunch that has never stood in front of clients. Now that I'm in, I'll take the top." The redhead introduced himself, ending his speech with a tone of finality and eyes burning with determination. Somewhere at the back of the crowd of students, a certain emerald-eyed pinkette was smirking at the newcomer's bold declamation. She inwardly gave herself a pat on the back for a job well done in securing the new student's spot in the academy.

Expectedly, the silence that had befallen on the students after his speech was broken by boos and retorts, the students affronted by the redhead's audacity.

Souma bowed before leaving the stage with the same light mood he had when he first stepped up, oblivious to the uproar he created.

As he had a verbal face-off with the examiner who failed him the month before, Senzaemon, who was observing the confrontation between Erina and Souma, knew he made the right choice to accept the young male into his academy. His mind went back to the call that made him finalize the decision.

 _'I'll leave before the Training Camp, but before that, there's this kid who deserves to join our ranks.'_

 _Senzaemon raised an eyebrow as he held up the phone to his ear, it wasn't everyday that the hard-to-please female would suggest for a student to join Totsuki. 'Who would that be?'_

 _Sakura hummed from the other line, 'I don't really know his name, but his examiner was Erina. And you know how she is, especially with cocky brats like him. I was present during his evaluation and I saw what happened and heard what was said. Erina liked his cooking and even had seconds." She chuckled at the last bit, no doubt flashing back to the blonde's reaction after tasting the dish._

 _Oh? The buff man was interested now. It wasn't everyday that the owner of the best palate in the world had seconds, which meant that whatever the kid made was exquisite enough for her tastes. 'I'll personally judge his dish. But with you being the one to tell me this, I'm sure he's already in.'_

 _Sakura clicked her tongue, 'He should be.'_

Yukihira Souma was a bit of an oddball, and perhaps that was what Sakura saw in him. After all, being an oddball herself and looking back to the previous alumni of his academy, he's beginning to believe that the trait was common when it comes to being the best.

* * *

News travels fast in Totsuki Culinary Academy, so when Sakura heard of the feat Yukihira Souma and Tadokoro Megumi made, of making Roland Chapelle smile, she was impressed. Sakura whistled as she walked around the academy, not staying too long in one place before quickly moving on to another. She was, after all, excused from all her classes for an indefinite amount of time. Because apparently, she has to take a break and 'find herself'.

* * *

"Let's see... Polar Star Dormitory."

Hiding behind a tree as Sakura heard Souma mutter the words to himself, she followed him as he trekked towards the only on-campus lodging. She wasn't surprised to see that he didn't have anything on him that were necessary for the test he had to take to get accepted in the dorm, already knowing that he didn't read the guidelines. She even watched as the paper that had the note to bring ingredients fly away without his knowledge. She shook her head, slightly incredulous. He reminded her too much of her best friend.

Silently slipping in before the doors closed as they reached their destination, Sakura hid as she continued to watch the usual happenings inside the dormitory. Having stayed there for some time now, she eventually got used to the way things were. She had no doubts that Souma would fit right in with the other eccentric dormmates, already knowing that he'd ace the test with flying colors.

She didn't know where her belief in him succeeding came from, but perhaps it was because he reminded her too much of herself back when she was as motivated as he was.

Sakura snickered as 'Polar Star's Demon Old Hag', as Fumio was known for, or 'Polar Star's Maria' as she wants to be called, made herself known. She knew exactly what Souma was thinking right then, that he came to a weird place. He wasn't wrong, but soon enough he'll learn that the weirdest place has the best people.

 _Ah, the skill test._ Her inner chimed in, drawing back her attention to Fumio and Souma. That was something the dormitory was known for, the 'Polar Star's Specialty Skill Test'. If you pass, you're in. If you don't, well, you're not in. Simple as that.

Sakura remembered when she first took the test. Much like Soma, she didn't read the guidelines and had to resort to making something out of the left-overs in the kitchen. She passed with flying colors.

Deciding on taking a bath before anyone could, the pinkette proceeded to go up to her room unnoticed.

And just like she said, Souma passed with flying colors the same way she did—with the use of leftovers. And later on, just as she was getting ready to leave, she heard the scream of Megumi.

The boy was too much like her. After passing her own test, she also wasn't informed of the bathing rules and walked in on someone naked as she prepared to take a bath herself.

Quietly, she gathered up her things and left.

It's about time she went back to where she really belonged.


End file.
